La Dolce Vita
by crushcrushniamhy
Summary: Ed Elric, welcome to Central High. Here's some weird new friends, and an amazing green haired kid, but sorry he will be too busy with the shy red haired girl to pay you mind.... Good Luck
1. Ich Hiesse Edward Elric

Edward dragged his feet down the blue and white tiled hallway, taking as much time as he could getting to his first class at his new school. Central High was so much bigger than his high school in Risembool, but he supposed that's the difference between city schools and obscure country schools. His old town was a tiny traditional one, and Edward reckoned had he stayed in Risembool he would probably have ended up marrying some 3rd cousin and have had children with 6 fingers or gills or something. Besides, the old house was painful these days.

His father, a genius scientist named Hoenhiem, had moved Edward and his little brother Al out to the capital to work as a researcher for some amazing company that Edward knew he should know the name of, but didn't. His brother was being escorted to his first class by the secretary, because he was shy and she had taken pity on him. Edward and volunteered to go on ahead alone.

Ed was starting Grade 11 now, while his younger brother by a year and a half, was beginning his first year of secondary school, in Grade 9. Of course, they had actually already started the year in Risembool, but they had moved 3 weeks into the year. Needless to say, Alphonse's first taste of High School was completely different to what he was about to experience. In their village, the average grade had about 40 kids in it. Here, the grades went by the hundreds. Poor little Al was kind hearted but as timid as they come.

Ed had put it off as long as he could, and he reached his destination. Grade 11 Honours English (AP English, highest level basically) with Ms Armstrong. He knocked on the door, and then opened it. He was greeted by 30-odd faces looking his way. He gulped, and faced his teacher. The tall woman before him was intimidating with cold silver eyes and full lips. Her blonde hair covered much of her face, but he could see she was very attractive, but she was so... broad and scary he couldn't really see past it. "Who are you?" her voice was crisp and clear, with a no nonsense tone.

"I'm Edward Elric, I'm new, I'm supposed to be in this class" he answered. She tilted her head up and observed him. He suddenly felt self conscious in his jeans and red hoodie, with long blonde hair in a braid. She sniffed a little, then barked "Sit behind Sheizka, Sheizka raise your hand so Mr Elric hear can see you" Sheizka obediently raised her hand into the air. She was shy looking, with mousy brown hair and large glasses, with neutral brown clothes, by Edward liked the look of her, she seemed the friendly, but geeky type. He kicked himself for stereotyping people already. He supposed it was the novelty of being in a big school. His old school was too small for cliques.

He took his seat and listened to Ms Armstrong as she held a discussion on Macbeth, the current play. He had never studied it, but his brother was really into Shakespeare, so he had read the play with him a couple of years ago. Al claimed it was more fun to read it with another person. He simply couldn't say no to Al. He looked around him, and noticed a red haired girl in the corner glance at him. She had startling green eyes, and her hair was a shocking shade of red. He offered her a smile, and she started. She bit her lip at the corner and gave a nervous smile back, before quickly looking back to Ms Armstrong. Edward frowned. Maybe she was really shy?

When the lesson was concluded, Ms Armstrong had Edward stay behind after the class. She piled 2 textbooks, a book of poetry, 2 novels and a copy of Macbeth into his arms, as well as a stack of notes she had prepared on the work he had missed in the first 3 weeks. "There are 4 important assignments in there, as well as notes I expect you to make on Macbeth. You have 2 weeks to finish them, but if you need more time, speak to me, I have no doubt you're other teachers will have work for you too. But I expect the personal letter tomorrow, it's important to assess your English level" She gave him permission to put the books in his locker, as well as a note to his next teacher explaining his inevitable lateness. Edward was grateful. At least Ms Armstrong was not unreasonable as he had been worried.

His little escapade had meant he was not able to meet any new students at all yet, but he wasn't overly worried. His next class was German with Frau Maria Ross. He entered the class to meet a short woman with short black hair and a kind smile. "Guten Tag, are you the new student?" She asked. Edward smiled "Ja, ich heisse Edward Elric" Frau Ross pointed him to a seat in the back that was unoccupied; between two boys with black hair. "You can keep Roy and Ling from talking during my class" She joked. Edward obediently sat in the empty seat between the aforementioned "Roy" and "Ling." He wasn't concerned about this class, he had studied German at his old school, and his teacher had been from Munich. He felt someone's eyes on him, and looked around to see "Roy" watching him. He frowned at him. Roy grinned "Hey new kid." Edward furrowed his eyebrows "Hi" Roy smirked, and introduced himself "I'm Roy Mustang, Welcome to Central. Allow myself and my dear close personal friend Ling here to be you're new best buddies"

A/N: Welcome to my new fic. I know, you are all super disappointed, no Envy yet. But oh well, you'll live. The chapter end allows me to skip to the good stuff without boring you with worthless dribble.

Sneak Preview::

_Roy grinned, balancing the lunch tray in one hand with ease as his other hand swept gracefully in the direction of a half full table of students, as though he had done this numerous times before._

"_Allow me to introduce you to the best people you will ever meet"_


	2. The Best People You Will Ever Meet

Once it was lunch time, Edward found his stomach growling angrily at him, and he could hear Ling and Roy's stomachs doing the same. They stood on either side of him, partially dragging him in the direction of the cafeteria. Ed wondered what High School lunch was really like. His old school didn't have a lunch program. Students were sent to school with either a packed lunch or money to run down to the corner shop and buy a sandwich off of Tommy. They arrived at the double doors, and each pushed one open to make a spectacular entrance, dragging Edward along with them. Before Edward could gasp at the extraordinary amounts of people in the room, Ling shoved him to the lunch line were they picked up some tomato pasta and chicken, and some ice tea cans. It was a surprisingly quick process, and now Ling was leading the way through the maze of tables and chatting teenagers. Near the far side of the huge white and blue hall, they finally reached their destination.

Roy grinned, balancing the lunch tray in one hand with ease as his other hand swept gracefully in the direction of a half full table of students, as though he had done this numerous times before.

"Allow me to introduce you to the best people you will ever meet"

The students of the table looked up to find out who Roy was talking to. Edward was staring in mild shock at the group before him. First he noticed a girl with large quantities of black; black hair, black makeup, black clothes and a black iPod in hand. She shifted slightly and Ling sat down beside her. Between them the only colour came from Lings orange shirt. Next to her was a blonde girl with her hair clipped back, wearing a sky blue blouse and white pants. She was playing with her salad. Across the table sat what appeared to be polar opposites. A feminine looking boy with long green hair in a black, tight fitted t-shirt and jeans was seated underneath a girl wearing black skinny jeans with a multi-coloured star pattern, pink converse, and a shockingly purple shirt with a daisy in the middle, and shocking green eyes and red hair. Ed recognised her as the shy girl from his English class, and recalled from the distant crevasse of his mind that super-black girl sat beside her. Shocker girl was seated with her arms wrapped around green-hair dude, and he noted that they only had one, untouched tray in front of them.

Ed thought this was the weirdest group of people he had ever laid eyes on.

Roy seated himself beside the cuddling two, and motioned Ed down beside him. "So that's Ran Fan" he pointed to black girl "Riza there" the blonde "Envy is the one with the green hair, and Sophie is with the crazy clothes" Ed couldn't stop himself, word vomit "Envy?!" he blurted. The table was silent for a moment, before just about everyone burst out laughing. Ed frowned

Envy nodded, smiling "Yea, tradition, my Grandmother was a freak. We are all stuck being called sins now. Who are you?" he asked, rubbing Sophie's back. Sophie herself was buried somewhere near his collarbone, and all Ed could see was one emerald eye peaking through the flaming strands. "Ed Elric"

Ed focused on Envy, and found himself stuck. Envy had eyes more fantastic than Sophie's were. He was staring into vibrant purple eyes. He couldn't look away.

"DUDE! You're eyes are freaking cool!" That shook him out of his trance with a snort. Envy had just complimented _his_ eyes, when his were freaking purple! Back home, his golden eyes were something to be admired, but now he'd met amethyst and emerald eyes at once. Ling was laughing heartedly at this. "You're one to talk Envy, state of your bloody eyes" He spoke exactly what Ed was thinking.

Roy yelped, breaking the inevitable break in conversation as Ed struggled to speak to the new, weird people; Envy struggled to think of a comeback; Ling struggled to stop laughing; and the author struggled to think of the next part of conversation.

"That the fuck was that for-" he stopped yelling at the look that Riza gave him. She nodded to Sophie, whose ear was being whispered in by Envy. Ed couldn't see much of her face, since it was carefully obscured by large amounts of red hair, but he could see she was uncomfortable. She was biting her lip a lot, he assumed a nervous habit. Roy stuttered for a minute. "Um, Sophie, don't you have to go finish that painting for Art?" Sophie's head shot up and she looked at Roy, then at Ed, and then a look of dawning came into her eyes. "Oh yea! It's not a painting though, it's a drawing with pastels" she said, but her voice got lower as she spoke. Riza nodded "I'll go with you, Envy hasn't eaten yet" she said calmly. Ed wondered if Sophie had. The two stood up and Sophie stood awkwardly until Riza reached out and held her hand, balancing her tray one handed. Ed wondered if they had all met in a waiter's class.

Ling furrowed his eyebrows. "But, aren't you in her Art Class, Envy? Do you not have to finish it too?" Envy stared at him in shock, and Roy burst out laughing again. "Ling, you are the thickest dumb shit I have ever met" Envy glared at him "You're one to talk, what the hell were you two thinking??" He asked angrily. Ed shrunk back in his seat, as though he was the one who was being scalded. Maybe he didn't like this Envy guy so much.

Roy raised his hands in defence. "I dunno! I thought she'd be okay! She's been real confident lately, and he doesn't seem very intimidating to me!" Ed figured they were talking about him, and Sophie. He spoke nervously "Um, I'm sorry if I've caused any trouble..." He spoke with a politeness that felt foreign in his mouth, but none the less, living with a brother as soft-spoken as Al had of course rubbed off on him at some point. Envy glared at him. "Yea, you should be" he spat harshly, but the glare didn't last, and he visibly deflated. "It's not your fault, you didn't know... unlike some people" he scowled, and shoved a forkful of tomato rotini (the swirly tube-y pasta, forgive me, I live in Italy), chewing bitterly. RanFan decided to spare Ed the confusion.

"Sophie has... a fear of strangers. Trust issues like" Ed's mouth formed an 'O' of understanding, nodding and averting his eyes down. He could see his presence had formed some troubles. Roy patted his back. "Don't worry about it, no real harm done" Ed missed the glare Envy sent Roy, and felt a bit better.

Ling smiled "I like Ed, can he stay Envy? Please?" Ed suddenly felt akin to the cats Al found on his daily trips to the park, as Al begged him to let him keep it. He didn't quite like the comparison, and glared at Ling, who smirked in reply. Envy frowned. "I have no problem with him, the pipsqueak seems nice, but you know what the issues are." Ed didn't really catch much past the pipsqueak comment.

"_**Who are you calling so small he could be mistaken for a kitten on the street?!"**_

The entire cafeteria went silent. Who knew such big sounds could come from such a small guy?

Envy stared at him, then smirked "You can keep him Ling, I like him"

_._._._._._

A/N: O Dio Mio,che cazzo, that was a difficult chapter to write. Forgive the Italian, I have a sudden urge to speak it right now. ENVY E UN RAGAZZO BONO! Bahahaha. Okay, va bene, I'm finished now.

Oh, my Word just swapped to Italian. How interesting. ANYWAY, chapter two finished. You've now met ENVY, and Sophie. How interesting, you've know found what makes this story different (: I haven't yet started chapter 3, but I know where this story is going, sort of. I've also updated my Ouran fic, "Host Club Italia" which could be why I'm speaking Italiano.

_**Sneak Preview:**_

_Ling leaned across to Ed's table, carefully keeping one eye on Frau Ross. _

"_So it's Friday, wanna see how Central kids party?"_


	3. How Central Kids Party

When Edward first arrived at Central High, it had been Tuesday. Today, it was Friday. The last few days had been a whirl-wind of bizarre comments and bright colours and school spirit. Ed was worn out and he felt as though his brain had been stretched like Play Dough by the heaps of extra homework that had been shoved ruthlessly into his arms by his teachers. He had barely found himself any spare time between Shakespeare, Quadratic Functions and overly frequent MSN messages from Ling and Winry, his best friend from Risembool. He had grown to despise the colour orange with all of his being.

Edward mused back on the last few days absentmindedly, paying Frau Ross little mind as she prattled about German Geography, with help from a colourful map she had tacked up on the wall. His new friends were some of the weirdest people he had ever met.

Ling seemed to adore him, though it might have been because he had discovered Ed had his ears pierced a few times. Ling himself had the side of his lip pierced, and he treasured it like a child.

Roy liked him a lot too, and Edward thought he and Ling were quite cool and enjoyed hanging out with them. They were jokesters sure, and made him laugh; a lot. Often about the weirdest of things.

Riza and RanFan were nice too. Riza was really helpful and smart, but she was also mildly intimidating. She was certainly the kind of girl who could take care of herself. As was RanFan in fact... she could be downright terrifying. She was fiercely protective over Ling, but he was far too dense to notice of course. In all though, Edward thought she was really cool as well.

But then there was Envy and Sophie. On the very first day Envy had said he liked him, but he had seen very little of the boy since. Whenever they saw each other, Envy would wave vigorously at him, with a huge grin on his face, or he would occasionally shout "EDO!" from across the hall, much to his embarrassment, but he never came over to him. Then again, he was always with Sophie.

Sophie was a complete mystery still. She hadn't come to lunch since his first day, and Envy had only come once, for a few short minutes on Thursday. She generally avoided him, and on the few occasions Edward had caught her eye, she smiled weakly, nervously even, before quickly turning away. Edward didn't know how to feel about it. But it certainly seemed like she wanted little to do with him, for whatever reason, and wherever Sophie went, Envy was right there with her.

In any case, Edward figured it was none of his business, and it would be for the best if he let it go. He was impatient by nature, so it was better to leave it alone entirely, instead of blowing up at them later for something they weren't aware he was waiting for. It wasn't like he didn't have other new friends with which he had relationships to establish.

Speaking of which, Roy and Ling had been exchanging glances all class, annoying Edward slightly as these exchanges had been passed over him, as he was still seated between them. He concentrated his gaze on Frau Ross as she pointed to Berlin on the map and talked about some type of wurstel that was special there. Maybe… He wasn't sure.

Edward was defiantly about to fall asleep when he felt something thin and sharp poking at his arm. He wondered weither it was a finger or a pencil, to determine weither it would be okay to snap it. Instead of risking paying hospital bills, he lifted his head to look to Ling. It had been his finger. 'Damn, does he never clip his fingernails?' he mused.

Ling leaned across to Ed's table, carefully keeping one eye on Frau Ross.

"So it's Friday, wanna see how Central kids party?"

Any hope Edward had of resting tonight flew out the window with that comment.

*_*_*_*_*

At 8 pm that night, Edward was in his room, staring at the full length mirror by his desk, with a critical gaze. What, exactly, had prompted him to agree to go to a _club?_ He winced just thinking about all the things that could go wrong at a club. For one, he probably wouldn't get in. Another, he knew damn well he was a light-weight drinker. And third, who knew if he was dressed anywhere near right from a club? He sighed. He had a half an hour until Roy arrived to pick him up. He'd accomplished washing and blow drying his hair. Edward frowned.

"Hey Al? What do people wear to clubs?" He called out to his brother in the next room.

"What?" Al asked in shock through the wall. "A club? Why would you want to know that?"

"Because I got suckered into going to one"

Ed heard his brother moving along the hallway and groaned. He was going to get laughed at.

The door opened, and Al rolled in, big conspiracy grin all over his face. Edward groaned again, preferring to look at the big wheels of his brother's wheelchair than into that gleeful face.

Though that only succeeded in reminding Ed of how he had ended up in a wheelchair.

When Edward was 14 years old, and Alphonse 12, their mother had died of an undiagnosed disease. Edward had blamed his father, a workaholic scientist who was hardly ever home, for not realising his wife was ill. One night, a few months later, Ed tried to run away from home. Al had heard him leave, and followed him. They only got as far as the main road when Al had tripped while crossing. Ed ran back to get him, but they both got hit by an oncoming driver.

When Ed woke up a week later, he discovered that his right arm and left leg had been reconstructed with metal plates under his skin, and Al had sustained severe damage to his spine, leaving his legs unusable.

Edward shook his guilt from his mind before Al noticed, and glared at him.

"Don't laugh at me! It's not that weird!"

"My big brother, all grown up!"

"Just shut up and help me! My ride'll be here in less than 30 minutes!"

Al rolled over to Ed's wardrobe, cackling all the while. A few minutes of critical "Al-eye" he pulled out a black silk shirt, with a red tint, and threw it at Ed. "Put that on with your black skinnies" he said. Ed held it up in front of him. "Where the hell did this come from?!" They both tilted their heads and gazed at it for a few moments.

"Plot device?" Al suggested.

Soon, Edward had donned the shirt and skinny jeans with black converse, and began to braid his hair. "NO!" Al cried. Ed stared at him with wide eyes. "Leave your hair down!" he all but shouted. Ed wanted to protest, but Al's wrath was more than scary. Al had been rooting through Ed's accessories, all of which Ed had bought and pretty much never worn. He rolled up to Ed and rolled his eyes. He reached up with little difficultly and unbuttoned Ed's second button, with a mutter that sounded suspiciously like "Prude" before handing him a black Flamel necklace and attaching a chain to Ed's hip. Ed ended up rolling up his sleeves to make room for a black leather wristband.

"Happy now, Al?" He asked harshly. Al glared at him. "Be happy I'm not putting make up on you" he replied. Ed grinned "Thank you Al" Right as the doorbell rang.

*_*_*_*

The club was completely unlike what Ed had feared. It was made specifically for kids in their late teens. Heavy liquor not sold, it was all Alco-pop and light beer in this joint, with no shortage of soft drinks and crisps.

When Ed arrived, he was relieved to see his outfit fit in perfectly, and in fact attracted some appreciative glances. Roy immediately dragged him to a table in the corner, slightly away from the dance floor. Ling and RanFan were already there, sipping at Breezers and watching the dance floor, laughing at people who somehow managed to get drunk. Ling was dressed much like Ed, but his shirt was sleeveless and he had no accessories. RanFan was wearing black shorts and a black tight-fitted tank top, with black boots and gloves. Roy was wearing a white button up, with very few "buttoned up" and tight blue jeans. He was the epitome of "simple and sexy."

It was not long until Riza and Envy showed up, looking slightly windswept from using Envy's motorcycle. Riza was wearing a white miniskirt and a green sheer shirt, with a white boob-tube underneath. Her hair was in a long pony tail tonight, rather than her usual clip. She looked gorgeous, but Ed's eyes were drawn the green haired male striding confidently beside her. First he noticed the skin tight silver crop top exposing his slim, toned midriff and equally tight leather pants. His hair was up in a high pony tail, but a few gravity defying strands were loose. As his hips swayed, walking to the beat of the music, Edward noticed, with an unusual mental reaction, that he was wearing _body glitter_. Edward shook himself out of his mild trance with confusion. "EDO!" Envy cried, jumping to grab him in a glomp. "Envy... can't... breathe..." He gasped, but really he was pleased. After all, all the contact he'd had with Envy was a few waves.

"What's Sophie doing tonight then?" Ling asks him, as the two take a seat, Envy nabbing the seat next to Edward. Envy smiles "Johnny Depp movie marathon with her mam. Her dad begged me to take her out so he didn't have to endure it" He laughed in remembrance. Edward thought about this new information; Sophie was staying at home with her mother, even though she was allowed out, and all her friends were at a club. RanFan's comment about her trust issues floated into his mind again.

"Yea, but you were at her house long enough to nab her body glitter I see!" Roy howled.

Drinks were ordered, and the group chatted lightly, laughing away. Riza was invited to dance at some point, and accepted. Roy soon disappeared off two, and could be seen across the room dancing with two girls. The other four remained at the table, and the Central kids began asking Edward about his life in Risembool. After a few astonishing realisations about Country Life, Roy and Riza came back to the table, worn out from dancing. And that's when....

"Edo, do you dance?" Envy asked, almost childishly. Ed jumped. "Err, no... I really don't"

Envy pouted, and Ed frowned. "Why not? Have you ever tried to dance?" Ed shook his head in the negative.

Envy grinned "I'll teach you!" he then grabbed Ed's arm and forcefully dragged him onto the dance floor. Ed glared wildly at the others, who were laughing gleefully at his "misfortune." He called back to them for help, but his cries were lost over the music.

Once Envy had stationed them somewhere on the dance floor, he leaned in very close to Ed, and put his mouth to Ed's ear so he could hear him.

"Just flow with the beat Edo" Ed wanted to shiver, and had no idea why.

Envy pulled back a little, and started swaying, holding his arms up around his chest, head tilted down and eyes closed, singing along to the music.

"_All I ever wanted was to make you mine"_

Ed was mildly entranced again, and started copying what Envy was doing. He listened in to the song, and felt himself making up the moves, and feeling the beat. This was probably the weirdest feeling Edward had ever had.

"_oh baby why don't you see that all I ever wanted was you and me"_

He looked back up at Envy and saw him glancing around him. A lot of girls and guys were watching him, drooling over him even. Envy spared Ed a wink, before starting some rather promiscuous dance moves, flaunting his body and absolutely loving the attention it brought him. He looked like he was glowing.

"_Think of all the things we could do" _

Ed laughed at the irony of those lyrics, before quietly easing off of the dance floor, leaving Envy to his Patrick Swayze dancing with various partners. He sat back down with the others, glaring at each of them in turn. "You looked like you were having fun for a bit there" Ling remarked, and Ed glared at him even more. Riza in turn noted "Envy sure missed the dance floor didn't he?" Ed frowned, and Roy noticed his confusion. "He hasn't come out here in a couple of months. We haven't been in a while either, but a lot of the times we go, he's got plans with Sophie, and she rarely comes out here"

Ed nodded with understanding, and taking a swing from his bottle, he turned back to Envy, who was dancing with a good looking male now, rather intimately he noted. Ed doubted he knew the guy, and somehow also doubted he cared. Envy was having the time of his life out there. He didn't return to the table for another hour.

Ed ended up back on the floor a while later with RanFan and Ling, and enjoyed himself immensely, though found himself regretting his black shirt, becoming very warm with the body heat around him and the flashing lights with sheer darkness between, twinned with the alcohol in his drink left him somewhat dizzy and disorientated, but it all added to the buzz of the night, and Ed decided that he had to make somewhat of a habit of this. There was nothing like this at home, his school didn't even have any dances other than Prom, which was pretty pathetic in itself.

Ed didn't even realise the time until the others called to him it was coming up to chucking out time. Ed shrugged, and followed Roy out. Surprisingly, Roy had only had one beer, and Ed was glad, not one to get in the car with someone who had been drinking.

"What time is it anyway?" Ed asked, not having a watch and simply not bothered to wiggle his phone out of his skinny jean pockets when he wasn't totally sober.

Envy draped himself across Edwards back, and held his watch in front of Ed's face. He squinted at it, and then widened his eyes. "Could you read it to me, I must be real tipsy 'cuz I thought it said 3 am" Envy checked it himself "No Chibi it really is 3 am"

Edward's eyes were so big the others thought they would pop right out of his head,

"SHIT!"

*_*_*_*

A/N: and now you know how Central Kids Party. Erm so yea, not OVERLY pleased with how this chapter came out, kind of feel like I should have left it for a while before I did a nightclub scene, but there was a nice bit of character development, and Ed's starting to understand what the friggle is going on with Sophie. There was a bit there were I was real annoyed with how it came out, but I can't figure out how to fix it nicer. But I've a loss of sleep lately; I don't know how many of you heard about the earthquake in Italy? Well I live really close to L'Aquila, the town that got destroyed, and so every time there is another quake or an aftershock, you can feel it really strong here and I wake up, because they are almost all at around 3 in the morning. We're really lucky; we are just outside of the circle of damaged areas. I'm also doing a heap load of relief work so I'm tired. But I'm determined to keep this story going gosh darn it!

_Sneak Preview:_

_Al's chair glinted menacingly in the light of the lamp, and Edward wondered if he sat there all night posied beside that lamp just so he could flick it on when he snuck in, like at the movies. Only instead of laughing at this, Edward felt very, very afraid._

"_What time is it Edward?" _

_A shiver ran up Ed's spine._


	4. Mr Disco Fever

Edward carefully slid his key into the front door, and unlocked it with as much ease as he never showed after school. He amazed himself at just how _quiet _his front door could be; he was far more accustomed to slamming and smashing. Maybe this was how his father managed to sneak up on him all the time, it wasn't magic; the door was simply that silent.

He was so enraptured with the hush of the front door, that he actually thought he might get away with his late entry. As Roy pulled away, the light of the headlights shone through the windows, and Ed thought he saw something in the shadows. He froze, before shaking his head softly. Must be the lack of the flashing his eyes had become accustomed to the last few hours. His ears were still ringing from the loud pumping at the club. Absently, he realised he hadn't even caught the name of the club. He waited on the spot for a minute, listening for any sounds. Hearing none, he started to tiptoe towards the stairs.

_Click._ Freeze.

Edward turned his now stiff body towards the source of the dim glow now spread over the hard wood floor.

Al's chair glinted menacingly in the light of the lamp, and Edward wondered if he sat there all night poised beside that lamp just so he could flick it on when he snuck in, like at the movies. Only instead of laughing at this, Edward felt very, very afraid.

"What time is it Edward?"

A shiver ran up Ed's spine.

"Erm... late?" He tried, knowing damn well he was caught. After all, he had been sneaking in. Who sneaks in at a reasonable hour? Rather than bothering to go into that particular internal debate, he glanced at Al's face, wincing at the harsh glare in his brother's normally happy and cheerful face.

"3 am, Edward. 3 AM!" Edward winced again, now at the raised tone. When was the last time he had heard Al angry with him?

"Do you have ANY idea how worried I have been? 3 am! THE NEXT DAY ED! Do you know what it was like, to wake up at 1 am, and discover you weren't home yet? I knew you went to a club! Do you never watch the news? All kinds of horrible things happen at clubs! You didn't think to ring when you stayed out past midnight! 'Oh, he won't even notice I'm not home yet!' Mr Disco Fever couldn't even answer his damn cell phone when I try to ring you every 20 minutes. Why the hell do you have it if you're never going to use it?"

Every word hit him hard, and he kept him gaze on the floor, and swore that they were not tears in his eyes. Had his father tried to pull something like this, a telling off for being late, Ed would have shouted right back, but from Al it meant so much more. He was ashamed. He fumbled for something to redeem himself.

"I didn't realise the time, I swear Al! Time just got away from me! And I had no idea my phone rang, the music was so loud, Alu-"

"Don't you Alu me, Edward! If you didn't realise what time it was, why didn't you call when you found out? Don't you even try to worm your way out of this!" Ed deflated. Of course he couldn't.

"I'm sorry Al"

Al sighed heavily.

"Just go to bed, we'll talk in the morning"

Ed didn't need telling twice, and he sprinted to his room, closing it quickly and shimmying out of his tight jeans. Once he was freed, he collapsed onto the bed with the rest of his clothes still on, not even caring that he was not in appropriate nightwear, only thinking of the disappointed look on his brother's face. He listened to the sound of his brother's electric chair that was carrying him up the stairs to his second chair that awaited him on the landing. It occurred to him that perhaps it was unusual that his brother was the one who gave out to him when he came home late. It was a parent's job. He rolled over to bury his face into his worn pillow, and let out a deep sigh. Since his mother died, it was like he and Al shared her role with each other. Ed protected Al, and Al made sure Ed grew up properly. It was clear who was more mature, and Ed wasn't ashamed that his little brother mothered him, and no doubt would ground him in the morning. What did bother him was 3wed4rthat he had screwed up, and he still didn't know exactly how Alphonse felt. He heard his brother climbing into his bed in the next room, and the light click off. Ed sighed again, before willing himself to sleep.

?**S**?**O**?**M**?**E**?**H**?**O**?**U**?**R**?**S**?**L**?**A**?**T**?**E**?**R**?

Ed rolled out of his bed some hours later to the sounds of his brother pottering around downstairs. He was talking, but he could only hear Al's voice, so he assumed he was on the phone. Blinking blearily at the clock on the side table, he assessed that it was 1 pm. With a groan, Ed weighed taking a shower and feeding his stomach for the first time in over 12 hours. He whiffed his hair, and when he couldn't smell anything, his decision was made. If he had lost control over his senses, he needed to wake up. Shower it was.

The hot water cleared Edwards mind, and he contemplated his current situation as he lathered his hair with strawberry shampoo.

He had made friends.

He had gone to a club.

He had danced with a GUY.

He had enjoyed dancing with a GUY.

He had come home at 3 in the morning.

His brother had caught him, and he had no idea how much trouble he might or might not be in.

Ed sighed as he turned off the water and began to towel himself off and redress. How badly in trouble was he? He knew he would be grounded, but for how long? Would Al tell his dad? Altough, Ed didn't really care if the bastard knew he was in trouble. It might be more fun that way.

Once dressed, Edward wandered down into the kitchen, to see Al placing a plate of eggs on the table with a glass of juice, still on the phone. Ed smiled his thanks, but Al just gave him a look that quite plainly said "You're not off the hook, don't get to hopeful" Ed sighed, and dug into his eggs with fervour, listening into Al's phone call.

"SO yea, nothing else has really happened since Thursday, but when will you be home? I thought you were coming today"

Ah. So it was the bastard father. Ed sighed as Al's face dropped.

"Wednesday? But-"

He paused as he listened to his father, and Ed washed down the last of his food with the juice, standing to put his plate in the dishwasher. He felt disheartened to hear his father was suddenly away for 5 days. Yesterday the brothers had been under the impression their father was returning that night. Al was always so much happier when their father was home. That was the only thing about their father that Ed could stand. If he had gone off without telling Al once again, then Al would be swinging between irritable, restless and sad until Hoenheim came back. Not a good emotion to be dealing with after he had come home late.

When Al finally put the phone back in the cradle, Ed had re-seated himself at the dining table, to await his punishment. Al wheeled his chair to his spot at the table, directly across from where Ed was seated. Al folded his arms on the table top and looked at him. Nothing was said for a few moments. Ed bit his lip and decided to break the awkward silence. "So he's not back for a while then?" he ventured. Al glared at him in response.

"Edward we need to have a serious talk. Do you know what you have done?"

"Al, I came home late. I know it was stupid, but it was an accident, I was with friends the whole time, it won't happen again, I swear" Al frowned at him.

"How can I be sure of that? I never had reason to doubt you before, but look at what you've done. I was worried sick, and I didn't know where you were, or who you were with, you're friend's parent's phone numbers... Anything could have happened to you and I wouldn't have been able to do anything about it." Ed cringed. This was the worst conversation he'd ever had with Al, he'd never felt so horrible. He'd lost Al's trust in him...

"I'm sorry"

"I'm sorry too Ed. I don't know what to do with you. But for now, you are grounded. Until further notice. I want your laptop and mobile phone in the dining room, and you can only use them for school related stuff, under my supervision. Use the house phone, and stay in your room except for when you use the computer for school. Understand?"

Ed nodded sadly, and quickly ran upstairs to grab his laptop and mobile, switching both off without thought and bringing them down to the dining room table. Al watched him as he did so, and giving him a nod to show he was finished the conversation, and Edward fled.

Once he was up in his room, he mulled over the morning's events.

He had lost his brothers trust and been grounded without Internet and contact with people. This in itself wasn't a hugely bad punishment, he had not been grounded from reading, which Al had tried once before, but the worst thing was easily the loss of Al's trust. He'd never done that before....

#############

A/N: sorry for the wait guys, I'm sure you heard about the big earthquake in mid Italy, L'Aquila. I live really close to L'Aquila so I was doing a lot of relief work to help out with that. It's really horrible there, and it's taken a lot of my time. Now we won't be going into L'Aquila for another month or so, (too many volunteers!) but ISU's are coming up and I haven't even started my Italian one! So in any case hope you enjoyed this! Not as funny as other chapters but its plot development and character development which I feel is important, not much scene description though. Anyway, please give me any criticism, writing structure and general likes/dislikes. Thanks!

If anyone is interested in donating to L'Aquila please send me a message and I'll tell you how to go about it!

_Sneak Preview::_

"_No Envy, I'm grounded" Envy grinned cheekily in return._

"_Come on Ed, break the rules, live a little! For me?" _


	5. Biology Project

The weekend passed quickly for Edward, who managed to finish any and all upcoming assignments in the day and a half without the distraction of the internet. He had also cleaned and rearranged his room, prepared a black sack of clothes to donate to charity after going through his closet out of sheer boredom, and prepared a whole box of papers he discovered all over his room that he could recycle. There was a recycling centre outside his school, so Ed decided to take the bus to school early and take care of them. Ed managed to escape out of his house at 7 am on Monday morning to take the early bus to his school. He normally walked but did not find the idea of walking for 20 odd minutes while lugging a box of ex-tree, a sack of old clothing, and a bag pack of even more ex-tree extremely attractive. Though he was not necessarily an Environmental Activist, it had taken up plenty of time to sort his rubbish into recyclables that would otherwise have been spent wallowing in self pity.

When Ed arrived at the school at 7:12, it was deserted, save for 3 or 4 early birds who were making their way inside at a leisurely pace. Ed huffed at the weight of his box, marvelling at the sheer amount of papers that had somehow managed to accumulate in his room in the past week of living in Central. 'well' he mused 'most of these papers had travelled with me from Risembool'

He parked himself at the recycling centre and began to push his folded clothes into the tiny slot on the big yellow charity bin.

"Why are these slots so small?" he cried in frustration.

"Sometimes I ask myself the same thing" Ed turned in surprise at the small sound behind him, only to be even more shocked. It was none other than

"Sophie!"

Sophie was slightly away from him, putting a small pile of papers into the recycling bin. She was avoiding his gaze and blushing as wildly as her own hair. She looked unusual in a denim mini-skirt over bright purple tights and her pink converse, with a white zippy over a sky blue tee and a black, oversized dress blazer, with a long scarf to match her tights. Ed wondered idly if she owned anything normal.

"Um.. I didn't peg you ... I mean, as a recycler, I didn't really expect it" she uttered out, her face growing more and more red with every word. Ed gapped at her in shock. Sophie was actually speaking directly to him, on her own, though she did look quiet terrified.

"Oh well, I'm not strictly or anything, but I was grounded all weekend and I had bum all to do, so I sorted out my rubbish and old clothes and decided to recycle it all!" Ed offered as he began to pick up the paper from his box and slot it into yet another tiny slot on the now blue recycling box. Sophie edged slightly away from him as he moved closer.

"Oh I see... were you grounded because you came home late on Friday?" She seemed to hesitate, and she shifted on her feet. Ed nodded. "Yea, did Envy tell you?" She nodded, before dipping down and picking up the last of his papers for him, and slotting it into the bin. "bye" she muttered, before turning and running into the school. Ed stared after her in shock.

#####

"CIAO EDO!" The day had passed without incident. Despite the "meeting" with Sophie that morning, she and Envy had been notably absent from lunch once again that day. School had just ended, and Ed was waiting at the bus stop near the science labs, and he had just seen his brothers' wheelchair-friendly bus drive by, though Al had not noticed him as he drove by. Envy's loud voice broke across the grounds, and Ed winced at the eyes suddenly drawn to him.

"EDO! Come over to Lings house, it's Movie Monday!" he beamed, his face red from running in the cold. He was attracting looks for running around on such a cold day in an oversized tee that was cut off to expose his midriff, and baggy jeans. Ed snorted

"Didn't you hear? I'm grounded; I need to go home" He informed, feeling disappointed. Envy wanted to spend time with him _now?_ Envy's reply was a snort.

"Yea, whatever, come on! I'll give you a ride!" He grabbed Ed's arm and started tugging him away from the bus stop, not without at least 50 eyes watching their every move.

"No Envy, I'm grounded" Envy grinned cheekily in return.

"Come on Ed; break the rules, live a little! For me?" For some reason Edward found himself unable to simply say no to him. Internally he was conflicted. If he said yes, Al would be so mad that he had broken his grounding, and Ed might never earn back his trust. ON the other hand, if he said no, Envy might never ask him to hang out with him again...

"You have to drop me home after"

Envy beamed and Ed almost felt warmed by his glee as he let himself be dragged across the lot

#######

Riding on the back of Envy's motorcycle was somewhat of a unique experience. Though he did not use motorcycle helmets (and Ed was sure there had to be some in the box on the back,) he was a very conscientious driver; he was calm while he cruised down the streets, right up until the point when he had to turn.

Turning was terrifying.

Envy would wait until the very last moment, before taking the sharpest swerves Ed had ever seen in his life. It was the weirdest feeling, to be calmly enjoying the cool breeze and the feel of Envy's soft hair, then suddenly _whoosh!_ he was scared for is life! Sometimes, Ed was sure that the very last moment had already passed before he veered down a street, making Ed afraid he would fly into someone's window. When Envy finally pulled to a stop, Ed wasn't sure whether to beg for another go, or vow never to get on again.

The house they pulled up in front of was huge. Three stories high, It had white paint and redbrick walls and a large, well tended garden. Sizeable flowerbeds teeming with brightly coloured flowers lined the edges of the carefully trimmed emerald grass. A pathway made of several small slabs of –was that marble?- led the way to the large mahogany door, where Ling was leaning on the frame "What took you so long, the popcorn is ready!"

######

The inside of Lings house was just as, if not more immaculate than the outside. The ground floor consisted of a large sitting room come dining room, a pristine marble kitchen, and a mini cinema Ling dubbed "the TV room." The decor was mainly of traditional oriental Xingian style, Xing being his home country, with the exception of the TV room, which was primarily black and deep blue. A large screen took up the far wall, and across from it sat a projector attached to a black sleek looking laptop. Black couches and bean bags dotted the room, and Riza, Roy and RanFan were seated on the seat of their individual preference. Ling was fiddling with the techno-gear, and Envy disappeared down the hallway to the kitchen. Greetings were exchanged, and RanFan basically forced him onto one of the couches.

Soon after, Envy and Sophie entered the room laden with bowls of popcorn and bags of crisps and chocolates. Sophie seemed to hesitate for a minute, before setting down her bowl and bags, and then disappearing back down the hall. Ed watched her with a curious look. Roy caught it, and laughed.

"The blazer right? Yea, it used to belong to me" Although this wasn't actually Edwards's train of thought none the less he was intrigued. "Really?"

"Yea, from a dance last year. She was cold, and of course, as a gentlemanly date, I gave her my jacket. She tried to give it back, but I told her to keep it, I mean, it's too small on me now anyway, but she wears it a lot now! I didn't expect that, but can't say I'm surprised either."

Ed was trying to process this new information. Date? But he didn't get a chance to finish his train of thought when Sophie remerged with 2 more bowls of popcorn and the largest bag of gummy bears under her arm that he had ever seen in his life. Ling grinned "are we all ready now?" As Ling hit play and took a seat next to RanFan, Envy settled himself in the middle of a couch, with Ed on one side and Sophie on another. As the "Don't Download Movies, Piracy is Stealing, Stealing is Against the Law" Ad went through, Roy asked "Who chose the movie?" and Envy giggled "I DID!" he squee'd.

And then "_Hey hey hey hey.. ooooooh whoa...."_

"THE BREAKFAST CLUB? ENVY!"

****

Ed had no idea that watching a movie with a group of friends could be so bizarre and hilarious. Ling got overly involved with the movie, telling Bender off for getting himself into trouble, frequently flashing Vernon the bird, and was furiously questioning just what was the punch line of Benders joke, until Riza smacked him upside the head. Envy quoted alongside the characters and almost forcibly had Sophie re-enact scenes with him, while the movie continued almost in perfect sync behind them. Sophie would shyly stumble over a few lines, but otherwise kept time well, for she knew the lines perfectly. Roy and RanFan initiated a one-on-one popcorn war from bean-bags in front of them, and every now and again Ed would shoot out and catch one of the pieces of playing snack. Sophie was surely but steadily consuming the massive bag of gummy bears, sharing with no one, and Envy was devouring more sugar then Ed was entirely comfortable with. Ed was having so much fun, that when the movie ended he had totally forgotten that he had pretty much snuck out to come here, and that he had betrayed his brothers trust yet again.

That is, until Envy snuck up behind him, and draped himself across his back, holding his watch in front of Ed's face, reminding him almost bitterly of a very similar situation only a few nights ago "Time to go Edo, I said I would give you a ride"

####

Edward waved Envy off before stepping up to his front door, feeling rather windswept from the ride, and formulating his lie for Al in his mind, before taking a deep breath and opening the door.

"Hey Alu, sorry it took longer then I expected" he called innocently, as though he had not broken his brothers rules at all. He heard Al wheeling out of the kitchen to the hallway, and tried not to let his terror show on his face.

"Where have you been?!" Al yelled when he reached Ed. Red with fury, Al's eyes bore into Ed's, and edward had to resist the urge to gulp.

"I was working on a Biology project with Envy and Ling, I told you" he said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Al seemed to freeze.

"I – you did? No you didn't I would remember"

"I'm sure I did Al. On Friday, when I came home"

"Biology? What is the project on?"

"Drugs. We have to make a poster and do a presentation. Our's is on Ritalin, since Envy has to take it anyway" Ok it was a total lie, but he would not be in any way surprised it Envy did have ADHD. Al seemed to falter. It sure seemed believable.

"I don't recall you telling me about being late Ed..." but he was starting to doubt himself.

"I should have reminded you this morning, but as you know I had to leave early for the bus. I'm sorry Al" Inside he was jumping with joy, but his inner jumping self was also being eaten alive by an ugly looking monster that went by the name of guilt. You win some, you lose some.

Al narrowed his eyes at him, but let it go. "I guess since it was for school... Alright, I'm going to give you your phone back. It was eating at me that I couldn't call you when you were late"

Once Ed managed to shake Al off, he darted up to his room. Checking the clock, he saw it was already 6:30, and the scent of dinner was already wafting up the stairs. Cursing, he dove into his homework.

"_Think of the tender things that we were working on..."_

#####

**A/N**

So this chapter was pretty much written in Italian and Drama classes!

Hi there: I thought I might briefly respond to some reviews

Amy: I don't care if you don't like Al. So there :P

Envy-pride'ed: I'm not actually Italian, I'm really Irish, but I live in Italy right now. It's a beautiful language; unfortunately I'm not overly fabulous at it

Akatsuki Seal: Grazie! Tuo italiano era molto brava. :) Yea I felt the shockwaves, they were about 30 seconds each, but they happened 8 or 9 times over the week following the initial quake. It was quite terrifying.

YukinoKara: Thank you so much for reviewing all of my chapters, it really means a lot to me to get so much feedback! I'm glad you are enjoying it so far :)

Thanks also to deaths-black-rose and shikamarurules1 for reviewing, and to Ragdoll of Ashes, Envi-chan, Cammy-the-cat, Misuki Anime Miko and The Dramatic Llama (awesome name) for Alerting/Favouriting this story, it means a whole lot to me, and nothing feels better than sitting in Media Studies class and seeing that notification from ff. net pop up on the screen!

So everything is going good, been really busy with ISU's. Mostly finished, still working on Italian and Media Studies, but Media is all planned so once I get around to it, it will be easy. Got my final exams in two weeks, but next weekend my school is going to Ischia for the weekend. Meaning we are going to a resort island off the coast of Napoli (Naples) for 2 days of chilling before the exams. I feel like I will get some writing done then!

Oh and those that are wondering about L'Aquila, everyone has now been accounted for, no one is missing among the rubble, thank Ford (reading brave new world right now, sorry) and they are starting to demand shop-bought clothes and expresso's now! Italians will be Italian! They are clearing out rubble now, sadly the beautiful town has been totally destroyed. The University of L'Aquila has been reopened elsewhere already as well, but I can't recall where.

Pointlessly long authors notes, I am the master.

**Sneak Preview**:

_Ms Armstrong looked around in exasperation. "Isn't there _anyone_ other than RanFan you can be partners with? Because you are losing marks on teamwork by always being her partner, and I don't want to give you a bad mark"_

_Sophie bit her lip. "Well, I suppose... Maybe Edward?"_

_Ed's head shot up so fast he thought it might have actually left his body._


	6. Perche tu sei tanto intelligente?

The next couple of days went relatively smoothly for Edward. Now, however, that he was pretty much caught up in all of his subjects (much to his teachers surprise), other than English (Much to Ms Armstrong's displeasure), he was becoming very, very bored. It was now Wednesday, and his father was finally due to come home. His father, Vincenzo Van Hoenheim, had promised Al he would be home when they finished school. Al had decided that as long as his father was home, Ed would try to spend as much time away from the house as he possibly could and therefore there was little point in keeping him grounded.

Edward's first class of the day was Chemistry. Edward was in this class with Roy and Riza, who had insisted he sit with them and work in a trio. Or rather, Roy had, and proceeded to attempt to slack off, only to be frightened back to work by a simple look from Riza. It was during this class, while Roy snuck off to watch Paninya and Rose playing around with a Bunsen burner, that Riza noticed Ed's slightly frazzled appearance.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, putting down her pencil. Edward looked up from his equations, startled slightly by her question.

"Why do you ask?" he questioned. Riza scoffed.

"You look a bit annoyed"

"Oh it's nothing really. I'm just over thinking something" he didn't really want to talk about Hoenheim and his family with _anyone_, let alone someone he didn't actually know very well. Before Riza could question the matter, Mr Tucker shouted for everyone to GET OUT.

Roy was henceforth banned from the Bunsen Burner without Mr Tuckers undivided supervision.

###

Sophie and Envy joined them for lunch that day, though it seemed they only did it so they had people to complain to about Italian Class, which they took at the same time that Ed, Roy and Ling took German. Riza took French, and RanFan didn't take a second language.

"Prof is so annoying!" Envy complained as he dumped his tray on the table across from Ed.

"That's not really fair, today was just a terrible class" Sophie said quietly, dumping her patchwork satchel on the table beside his tray. Envy huffed and slumped across the table. Sophie sat almost daintily beside him.

"How can you be so calm about this?" Envy moaned, muffled by his arms and hair. Sophie scooted closer, while the other boys at the table exchanged looks of confusion. "Well sweet pea, because I did ok on my oral. If you had of studied…"

Ed could basically see the light bulbs lighting above everyone's heads, including his own.

Envy's normally beautiful amethyst eyes poked above his arms in a death glare at Sophie. "Stronza. Perche tu sei tanto intelligente?" Sophie smiled in return, tucking her head into Envy's slouched shoulder. "Non sono intelligente, ho studiato…. bastardo"

Envy pouted, before leaning back and allowing Sophie to crawl into his lap. "Non mi piace quando tu sei corrette" he whined. Sophie smiled "lo so"

Finally, Ling burst "WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?" Envy seemed to be thoroughly enjoying making Ling and Roy annoyed and confused. Sophie spared them "He was wondering why I was so smart, and I said I studied. And he hates when I'm right" Envy jumped in "And we called each other names!"

Sophie sighed. "But now we have a huge Italian project and Prof doesn't want me to work with Envy. She said she would let us but she's very upset about it. I hate making Prof upset. She's too cute!"

Envy rolled his eyes. "Quit your bellyaching" he muttered. Sophie frowned, propping her chin on her palm, resting her elbow on the table. "Mr Falman in Media Studies wants me to find a new partner too. He says I can't keep partnering with Riza anymore. I'm loosing teamwork marks" Ling raised his eyebrows "Mr Falman is docking you marks? But you're his favourite student!" Sophie shrugged, now playing with a fork. Envy meanwhile was digging into the plate of mash and peas, with chicken. Everyone cringed and turned from the disgusting sight.

####

When English rolled around, the last block of the day, Ed was suddenly wishing that he had several more classes today. The thought of the impending evening with his father was daunting and terrifying. So when Ms Armstrong announced that there would be a very important project to be started immediately, Edward seriously considered rethinking his status as an atheist. But unfortunately, it was a group project, and seeing as he had basically been kidnapped by one group of people, he didn't really have anyone to partner with. Resigning himself to the fate of teacher assigned partners, he waited patiently for Ms Armstrong to arrive at his desk, thinking absently about motorcycles and green.

Edward was soon jolted from his thoughts when he heard his English teachers somewhat stressed voice. He glanced briefly at the top of the room to see said teacher standing at Sophie's desk

Ms Armstrong looked around in exasperation. "Isn't there _anyone_ other than RanFan you can be partners with? Because you are losing marks on teamwork by always being her partner, and I don't want to give you a bad mark"

Sophie bit her lip. "Well, I suppose... Maybe Edward?"

Ed's head shot up so fast he thought it might have actually left his body. Ms Armstrong meanwhile, was overly enthusiastic about this solution.

"Perfect! That's Sophie and Edward, ok, come up at the end of class and collect your assignment"

Sophie turned and gave Ed a small, almost apologetic grin. Ed shrugged in reply. In all honesty he wasn't the least bit bothered by being her partner, he just didn't exactly know if they were on safe enough terms to be partners.

At the end of class, as Ms Armstrong had ordered, the two shuffled to the teachers desk and stood awkwardly next to each other as Ms Armstrong shuffled through some papers on the desk.

"This is an assignment I know you will like Sophie, I want you two to create a modern version of, let me see… yes the Banquet scene I think. Any theme or even era you like, from the 1940's up to today. With a write up. The other groups will be making some other important scenes from the play. If you have any questions feel free to ask me. 2 weeks, no extensions. You are dismissed"

####

Ed and Sophie walked together out of the school, and RanFan stayed behind to receive her assignment. She was paired with a timid looking boy called... Fiery or something like that. Once they reached the gate, Ed decided he should say something concerning the project. "So…" But before he could say a thing, who should jump onto his back, but Envy. His ears started to heat up, but he had no explanation for it.

Sophie however noticed the blush with a small smirk.

"What ya got there, Edo-chibi?" Edward growled a little, as his assignment was plucked from his fingers and he was forced to grab onto Envy's legs to prevent him from falling.

"Ooooh! Can I be in it Sophie? I'm in all your videos! I think I would make an excellent Lady Macbeth! OUT OUT FUCKING SPOT! ALL THE PURFUMES OF AFRICA COULD NOT SWEETEN THIS LITTLE HAND!" He crowed loudly, with a cackle. Ed almost found himself wishing they had gotten the nightmare scene just to see Envy do the quotes seriously. Sophie snatched the assignment sheet back from him.

"I was actually thinking about Riza as Lady Macbeth. And it's "damn spot" and the perfumes of "Arabia" not "Africa." Gosh" Envy sneered, and buried his head in Ed's neck. "She's being mean to me Edo" he murmured against the skin of Ed's neck. He represed a shiver and felt his cheekbones grow warm too.

"Suck it up, princess" He replied shortly.

"Don't mind if I do" Before Ed could even begin to analyze the innuendos of that statement, Envy blew into Edwards ear and jumped swiftly off of his back. Sophie gave him a short jab in the side with her elbow and turned to Ed.

"Do you want to come back to my house with us to do some planning for the project right now?" It took Ed a moment to understand exactly what she was saying, but non the less, he was certainly intrigued by the idea of seeing where Sophie lived. He agreed

"Sure, sounds cool"

####

**A/N **

Phew, New Chapter, YAY. I have ONE EXAM LEFT! WOOP! Its not even actually an exam, it's a "reflection" about my Drama course. And the teacher gives us homemade cookies after her exams. I had her English Exam today. 3 hours writing the test on an empty stomach: my reward, a cookie. Worth it. So next week, I'm doing this Settimana di Scout, which is a week where I live in my scout den, and its like we live a normal week, but instead of going home we stay in the den. Pretty sweet, but I'll have NO INTERNET for 7 DAYS. That's 7 days of no fanfiction, no typing, And NO LISTENING TO VIC MIGNONGAS VOICE. I may not survive. But I will hopefully write some in my notepad, but I've been planning this lime/lemon for a while, and of all the few words the Italians know, they know the dirty ones.

Hope you liked this one.

Stronza. Perche tu sei tanto intelligente? = Bitch, why are you so smart?

Non sono intelligente, ho studiato…. Bastardo = I'm not smart, I studied… bastard

Non mi piace quando tu sei corrette = I don't like it when you are right

lo so = I know

_Sneak Preview:_

"_Did you just get dropped home on a motorcycle?"_

"_Yea dad, didn't Al tell you? I dropped out of school and joined a biker gang. That was Envy, he's like the Don of the gang. He's teaching me the rules of Drive by Shootings while my leather jacket is made"_

"_That was a boy?"_


	7. Envy's Biker Gang

Sophie opened the front door of the 6th floor apartment extraordinarily quietly, possibly more softly than Edwards own had opened, that late night just one week ago. It probably had to do with personality or something. Maybe doors had some kind of empathetic power! Or maybe Edward should have left out the third spoon of sugar in his coffee.

He stepped into the warm hall and kicked off his runners in the same fashion that Sophie kicked off her dollies and Envy daintily removed his combat boots. Edward took his time to observe the open plan living room-come-kitchen-come-hallway. This home had a feel of being lived in. It was warm and homely, and certainly much smaller than his own home. The only room that felt like this was his kitchen. Envy grinned at him and threw his arm around Ed's shoulder.

"Welcome to Sophie's humble abode!" Sophie smiled shyly at Envy.

"It's practically your house too"

"Sophie, Envy! Are you going to come in and say hi?" came a female voice from the kitchen area. Envy grinned and bound through the room.

"MAMMY!" he cried, glomping the woman with vigour. Sophie smiled and shuffled over to the brunette woman, who was grinning at the green haired teen who towered over her.

"Hey Envy, mind if I hug my biological child now?" she asked, peeling the boy from her body. Sophie snuggled into her mother for a few seconds with a serene smile, before her mother seemed to notice the blond boy standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Hello? Who is this?" she asked, a large smile spreading across her face. Envy bounced over to Ed.

"This is Edo, and he's our new friend, he joined the school last week!" Sophie nodded

"He's my English partner" Edward watched the surprised joy making its way over Sophie's mothers face.

"Well, welcome, Ed, it's great to see these two making new friends! This calls for a celebration, are you guys hungry?" Envy bounced in spot happily

"Yes pleaaaaaaaase!" Ed smiled shyly at the small, bubbly woman before him. Sophie was the spitting image of her mother, save the colour of her eyes. Sophie's mothers eyes were a deep chocolate brown, and her slightly frazzled hair matched those eyes. She was plump, and wore worn jeans with a lilac wide neck sweater – Ed was surprised at how normal looking Sophie's mother was.

She led the way into the centre of the room, dominated by sofas and chairs across from a decent sized television.

"Excuse the mess Ed, these two and Sophie's father are ridiculously messy people" She informed teasingly as she picked up wrappers, magazines, mugs and papers from the coffee table in the centre of the room. Ed shook his head politely. "It's no problem, Mrs Smith"

She smiled warmly, arms full of rubbish "Oh, call me Paula. This one is polite, you could learn something from him" she said to Envy, who grinned cheekily in reply. Ed now noticed that Sophie had disappeared. Ed frowned in confusion as Paula left into the kitchen, and Envy began to give the 50 cent tour.

"Well, this is the living room, and Sophie sits in that chair there, and that's the kitchen over there, I'm not allowed in there anymore. Across the hall is the parents' bedroom, and the door with the purple sign is Sophie's room, and the one at the end of the hall is the study, I'm not allowed in there either, and the bathroom is right by the front door..."

It was around this point that Sophie reappeared with a laptop. It looked to have once been lime green, but was now covered with various stickers. Edward was able to recognise Paramore, Death Note, and one sticker reading "Stickers are Gay" She set it down on the coffee table, and sat herself cross legged in the red armchair Envy had pointed out. Envy took a seat on the couch across from her, and Edward sat beside him. Sophie got herself set up, and opened her assignment sheet.

"So basically I thought that...."

*****

The afternoon was spent with Sophie throwing out her various plans and ideas for her scene. Ed discovered her vivid imagination and clear pictures of videos she planned. Envy revealed later that Sophie wanted to make music videos when she was older. About a half an hour into planning a Mafia gang meeting style banquet scene, Sophie's mam arrived in the living room with heaps and heaps of finger food – sausage rolls, breaded cheese, small kiesh squares, garlic bread.. along with a bottle of Diet Coke and a bottle of Sprite.

By 5 thirty, the scene was pretty much planned, with Envy as the Boss and Riza as his woman, though it was undecided whether they would have the ghost or whether it would be his imagination. Also, Ed had watched 2 of Sophie's music videos – on Envy's insistence, both of which Envy starred in, of course. Ed resigned himself to the fact that he would need to head home and see his father. With a sigh, he stood.

"Sorry guys, but I have to go. Dinner" Envy suddenly reached up and wrapped his arms around his waist, his check pressed into the small of Ed's back.

"Don't go Edo!! Stay here for dinner!! Mammy makes the best food!" Ed tensed at the feel, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a Mona Lisa smile on Sophie's face.

"Em, sorry Envy, I need to go to this dinner, it's with my family." Envy whined into Ed's jumper, tightening his hold, causing a shiver to run up his spine. It was this moment that Sophie's mother reappeared from the study.

"Envy, behave. Ed, do you need a lift? My husband should be home in a few minutes" Envy jumped to attention, keeping one arm possessively around Ed's waist. Ed himself remained tense at the contact.

"I've already promised to drop Edo home!" Paula laughed

"Oh dear"

*****

There was a short walk back to the school to collect Envy's motorcycle. Envy had removed his arm from around Ed's waist to hug Sophie goodbye, and thankfully had then kept his arm to himself. The journey was slightly uncomfortable for a few moments, with Ed thinking about having to see his father, and Envy feeling very uncomfortable in the silence, leading him to babble meaningless nonsense for a few minutes. Ed latched onto one of the fly away comments, leading to a decent conversation, of Envy bouncing happily down the street and Ed laughing loudly.

Once they were on the back of the motorcycle – again both without helmets – conversation ground to halt in order to appreciate the simulated trill of flying. This time it was Ed pressed into Envy's back, protecting his face from the sharp winds.

It only took a few minutes for Envy to pull up outside Ed's house. Ed dismounted onto shaky legs, shifting his backpack slightly.

"Thanks Envy. See you tomorrow?" Envy revved his engine with a roguish grin.

"Absolutely. Later, Edo"

Ed sighed as Envy zoomed off up the street, turning the corner with a squeal of tires on tarmac. He'd put it off as long as he could.

The delicious fumes of Spaghetti Bolognese wafted to his nose as soon as he opened the door, giving him the overwhelming desire to move immediately to Bologna in Italy. He hoped dearly that his brother had made double portions.

Ed had only just taken off his jacket when his father stepped into the hallway.

"Edward"

"Father"

"Did you just get dropped home on a motorcycle?"

"Yea Dad, didn't Al tell you? I dropped out of school and joined a biker gang. That was Envy; he's like the Don of the gang. He's teaching me the rules of Drive by Shootings while my leather jacket is made"

"That was a boy?" Ed rolled his eyes, disgusted, and shoved passed him towards the waft of cooking.

Dinner was an awkward affair, the tension between Edward and his father so thick that it couldn't even be cut with a knife, one would need a chainsaw. Alphonse nattered happily about school and his friends, pointedly ignoring the discomfort of his family. Ed shovelled food into his mouth at top speeds, trying to consume large amounts of pasta in a short amount of time, in order to escape the table as soon as possible. When Al finally let him go, Ed ran to his room and shut himself in as soon as he could.

Ed groaned unhappily at the thought of dealing with his father like this for two more weeks. Luckily, his brother would not expect Ed for another family dinner until just before his father left again, though he would defiantly ask before then. Ed flung himself face down onto his bed and sighed. Ed really did wish he had a father who was around. A father who wasn't some mad scientist. A father who hadn't caused an explosion...

Ed snapped his head up to shake off his thoughts. He didn't need to deal with that now. He checked his watch.

9 pm.

Another groan. Ed groped blindly at the low shelf over his bed for a random book, and pulling down the first one he could get a grip on.

_Sophie's World._

"Oh for crying out loud"

*********

**A/N** : I am so sorry to all my loyal readers. I had the first half of this written since the last chapter came out, and then my muse ran off, I don't know where!

Well, that's not true. It was with DeathNote... then with Torchwood. L and Captain Jack. Wow.

Well, I'm more or less in my last year of high school. When I say more or less, I have a slight issue with credits. But I am still prepping for University! Its awkward but not as bad as I thought. Also, next weekend I'm going to Dublin's annual anime convention-Eirtakon!! It'll be my first con, I'm really excited. I'm going as Mello from DeathNote. If anyone else is going, let me know! I'm super excited!

_**Sneak Preview::**_

_Crash of teeth. Hot tongues. Cool sweat on warm skin. Dizzy. Incredible_

"_Edo..."_

"_..Envy.."_

_Edward shot awake, breathing heavily, eyes wide. He glanced down and groaned_

"_oh shit"_


	8. Mrs King is Going Mad

_Crash of teeth. Hot tongues. Cool sweat on warm skin. Dizzy. Incredible_

"_Edo..."_

"_..Envy.."_

Edward shot awake, breathing heavily, eyes wide. He glanced down and groaned

"Oh shit_"_

3 weeks had passed since the first 'Movie Monday,' and his butterflies had grown immensely in his stomach over that time. But when did butterflies turn into hard ons??

Following his fast, rather cold shower, Ed stood in front of the fogged up mirror, and wiped the mist away with his palm. His stared at his own reflection for a number of minutes, ticking over in his mind the implications of his dream. Logically, there were only 2 possible reasons for his dream.

He really needed to get laid.

He had a serious crush on Envy

Or alternatively:

Both.

Hm.

Ed leaned his hands heavily on the sink. He felt his dripping hair fall forwards over his shoulders, and watched the droplets landing in the sink and sliding along the porcelain down the drain. But he wasn't gay? He surely wasn't gay...

He wasn't gay.

Was he?

**

When he arrived in his first class, Ed hardly felt ready for the day. In fact, Ed was whole-heartedly prepared to sleep through the whole day and get notes from his friends later. In fact, the more he thought about it, the better that plan sounded, he mused as he plopped into his chair and proceeded to slump forward over his desk, pillowing his forehead in his arms. History was a good subject and all, and his teacher was great – so great in fact, that she would probably let him sleep as long as he handed in any and all assignments. Though, that was probably wishful thinking on his part. Or wishful dreaming, considering his current state of not-awareness. Yea, sleeping was looking pretty good right now.

But alas, no such luck was available to him. Ran Fan, Roy and Ling seemed to have other ideas for their favourite Risemboolian.

"Edward! Wakey wakey rise and shine!" Ling shook his body roughly, causing Ed to yelp and fall out of his chair and onto the cold tile floor. His supposed "friends" roared with laughter as Ed glared up at them.

"Fuck you" he stated angrily, fully prepaired to just go to sleep right there on the floor, but unfortunately his amazing teacher, Mrs King, chose that exact moment to walk through the door.

"Edward, I did not just hear such coarse language come out of your mouth, did I?" she asked in an amused yet stern tone. Ed groaned internally and stood.

"Of course not Miss, I would never" She smiled

"I didn't think so. Take a seat" And so the class progressed.

By lunch, Ed hadn't woken up at all, and received 2 new assignments that hadn't really registered in his mind. He was practically dragged to lunch by his larger male friends while he tried to sleep standing up. Roy grunted with annoyance.

"Shit Elric, how much do you weigh? Wake up, dammit!" Ed snorted in reply, and stood by himself, only to seat himself heavily on at the usual table, and resting on his folded hands to sleep again...

...Only to have a backpack dumped on his head.

"FUCK!" he yelled, jumping up in anger to glare at Envy, the grinning culprit of his pain. But of course, right then, Mrs King walked by.

"Edward, I think I'm going mad, I could have sworn I heard vulgarity from your mouth a second time today!" Edward winced.

"No Miss, of course not." He said in an apologetic tone. Envy held his laughter in by hiding behind Sophie. The elderly teacher nodded to him.

"Good. I hope I don't have one of these hallucinations again."

Edward glared at his green haired friend as Mrs King wandered away, his only reply being a barking laugh, followed by a hug of apology.

"Oh Edo, you silly goose. Poor old lady. OH yes, I have an announcement! A big surprise in fact"

Everyone at the table looked at Envy with interest, though Ling and Roy continued to eat with vigour.

"What's the surprise?" Envy grinned wickedly.

"Well it's a surprise so I can't tell you. I'll show you all after school. It's a great surprise."

Edward watched Envy go on and on with enthusiasm about his big surprise, and found himself almost in a trance watching him. His stomach felt fluttery and his mind dreamy, and Ed frowned in realisation. There was no point denying it. Ed liked Envy. At least a little bit. Teeny weeny little bit.

Goddammit.

*.*.*

During English class, Edward and Sophie sat together at the back of the classroom with Sophies laptop, working on editing the project of their Banquet scene. It had taken a lot of effort to convince their teacher to let them bring the laptop to school for the work period, and Sophie was determined to make the most of it. Ed was working on the write-up for the piece, and he glanced up at Sophie and made his biggest mistake of the week.

He pulled out one of her earbuds to get her attention.

Sophie jumped so badly she had to stand to avoid falling on the floor like he had this morning. She looked at him wildly, fear and surprise in her eyes. The class had fallen silent to watch the commotion. Sophie smoothed her jeans and retook her seat, staring pointedly at the computer screen.

"Ed. Never do that."

Ed nodded shakily, biting his lip and moving to fiddle with one of his hoops in his ear.

"I'm sorry. I didn't even think-" Sophie shook her head.

"It's ok. Just don't do it again. Anyway, what did you want?" It took Edward a moment to remember that he had actually wanted something before he scared the living shit out of his English partner.

"Oh, um, I was wondering if you knew what Envy's secret surprise is?" Sophie shook her head with a thoughtful look, though she was still tense.

"I have no idea. He probably got a puppy or something. That would be like Envy." She muttered, half to herself. Ed nodded absently and returned to his write up, Envy on his brain. Should he tell him? He probably should. Maybe he would tell him. Yea, after the surprise. Envy was an open guy, and Ed was terrible at keeping secrets, even his own. He should really tell him...

*.*.*

Despite the fact that it was only 3 classes, most of Ed's group of friends had forgotten that Envy had a big surprise planned. Except for Ed and Sophie, naturally. So when Envy shouted for everyone to wait together at the front gate, everyone was a little bit confused. Edward waited on batted breath, and was feeling nervous. Maybe he wouldn't tell Envy. There was no reason to tell him right now, I mean wow, he just realised this morning. He was seriously jumping the gun, he should really wait a day or two, be sure of what he was feeling. God grow up Edward, be a man! Tell him!

Edward really needed less sugar in his coffee. Like, seriously. Maybe he should just go cold turkey on the coffee.

"Okay guys, the moment has arrived" Envy had reappeared, and he was standing at the edge of the wall around their school, with one hand still behind the wall, shielding the grand surprise.

'_I'll tell him. What's the worst that could happen?'_

"Drum roll please" Ling tapped his thighs in a drum like rhythm. Envy grinned

"TADA!" and pulled a boy out from behind the wall.

"This is Alfons, he's my new boyfriend as of last week."

_Silence. _

Ed's heart dropped from his throat down to his stomach, crushing the damn butterflies alive. Sophie, who had been standing silently in front of him, now took a step back. A heeled step. Right back on Ed's sneaker.

"OW, FUCK!"

"EDWARD! THAT'S 3 TIMES TODAY, I'M SORRY, THAT'S DENTENTION!" Goddammit Mrs King!

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

**A/N**: so. Um. I have no excuse. Well I do, but I'm not bothered listing them and you all are not bothered reading them .

Though most of this chapter was writing during Law and English class. Believe it or not, I'm 85% average in both of those courses. I felt really bad for not updating this in so long... so I sat myself down and said "WRITE DAMMIT" so I wrote.

I didn't decide who would be Envy's new lovah until I was on that sentence .

OH is anyone else majorly disappointed with Brotherhood English Dubb??? Travis in particular let me down, and even Vic sounded really bad for most of the Child-Ed scenes. And this is Vic-sensei, the man that can do no wrong in my books. However, new Al gets a double thumbs up from me ^^

Annnnnnnd:

Sneak Preview:

"_Hey Ed, wanna come 'round to my house and watch a Johnny Depp movie after school with me and Riza?" Sophie asked quietly, eyes averted. Ed started._

"_Em, yea, sure, but what about Envy?"_

"_Oh... I'm not really talking to Envy right now..." _


	9. Where is My GreenHaired Child of Choice?

For the next couple of days, Ed tried to avoid Envy and the gang as much as possible. His crush on Envy had decided it didn't really care if Envy had a boyfriend, but instead took it as encouragement to thump around his brain and his heart as often as possible, with the new addition of jealousy. The crushes opinion seemed to be "Hey, he likes blonde guys! You _totally _have a shot!"

For this reason, Ed decided that he didn't want to explain his sweaty palms and frequent glances and glares in the green-haired boys' direction to his friends, and spent his lunches in the library, waving away questions and protests with the excuse of study. He and Sophie handed in their Macbeth assignment two days following the Big Reveal, so that by Thursday he had no reason that he _had _to spend time with his friends.

Unfortunately by Friday he really, really missed hanging out with his friends. His brother had made a lot of new friends himself, and had taken to having them to the house often, which left Ed sitting in his room, on MSN to Winry while hidden from Ling and hanging up when his father called. And he couldn't simply ignore the others either, with Roy and Ling pestering him during German to come to lunch today, because we know what an appetite you have, Edward darling.

So when Sophie and Riza approached him after school that day, he wasn't really in the mood to blow them off straight away and escape home. It was interesting enough to see Sophie without Envy to warrant a bit of time anyway. Sophie was looking remarkably demure in a plain black wool top and blue jeans, her red hair had grown so her fringe tickled her chin and her mother's chocolate hair peeked through her roots.

"Hey Ed, wanna come 'round to my house and watch a Johnny Depp movie after school with me and Riza?" Sophie asked quietly, eyes averted. Ed started.

"Em, yea, sure, but what about Envy?"

"Oh... I'm not really talking to Envy right now..." Edward was shocked into silence. Now that was news. In the time Edward had been avoiding the group, he hadn't realised there would be more drama going on. But, why...? He opened his mouth to make that inquiry, but was stopped short by a hard look from Riza. That woman had remarkable skills at the language of the eyes. He wondered if he should go or not. On one hand, he had been avoiding everyone else, it might seem bad if he suddenly hung out with the girls. On the other hand...

"Sure, sounds fun. What Johnny Depp movies are we talkin' here? Pirates?"

3 hours later and they had finished _The Curse of the Black Pearl_ and _Benny & Joon _and Ed and Riza had begun arguing over which movie to watch next. The trio was relaxed, with mugs of hot chocolate and crisp wrappers littering the coffee table alongside the stacks of DVDs baring Johnny's name and fame in bold font. Edward branished _Fear and Loathing_ while Riza pointed to _Edward Sissorhands_ and Sophie just smiled from her armchair, not really caring from which universe she stared at Mr Depp's face.

Sophie's mam chose that moment to wander in through the front door laden with shopping bags.

"Guys, stop yelling, you'll have the neighbours on us in a heartbeat. And give me a hand, please?" The three teenagers, suitably chastised, quickly rose to help the plump woman with her bags. They quickly deposited them in the kitchen, before standing awkwardly in the tiny kitchen, wondering what to do next. Their DVD issue was yet to be solved. Paula grinned at them, beginning to pull bread and eggs from her bags.

"I personally would like to watch _Finding Neverland_" Edward groaned while the two girls smirked at the decent compromise in their eyes. Riza and Sophie ran in to put in the DVD. Edward turned to follow when Paula laid a soft hand on his arm.

"Edward, dear, can I ask you something quickly?" Edward nodded. He found he really liked Sophie's mam.

"Do you know what's going on with Envy? He hasn't been around in days and Sophie isn't saying anything. I'm worried..." Paula's face shone with genuine concern; not just for her daughter falling out with one of the few friends she had, but also the possibility that something may have happened to her essentially fostered child.

"Emmm... I don't know why they aren't speaking, I didn't know until today..." He spoke quietly, voicing his own confusion alongside hers.

"Well did anything happen?" Edward blurted the only thing he knew had happened in recent times with Envy.

"He got a new boyfriend?" And Paulas face shone with understanding. "Ohhhh... Oh I see..." Edwards face scrunched up in confusion. That made sense? Before he could question it, Paula ushered him back to the couch.

"Are you two staying for dinner?" Riza offered the affirmative, and Edward, in the mood for friends, also volunteered to stay, sending a quick text to Al.

A late dinner was prepared of steak and potatoes, set onto the table just as Sophie's father appeared in the doorway, loosening a tie and shrugging off a suit jacket. It was the first time Edward had met Sophie's dad. He had slightly greying brown hair and green eyes to match his daughter. Tall and broad, he had a friendly face and a slight beer belly. He grinned and boomed a greeting to the occupants of the small apartment.

"Hello family and friends! Such a long day, I cannot wait to sit at home and watch the hockey tomorrow!" He threw his jacket and tie onto the couch, confirming his wife's comment a few weeks ago on his messiness. He strode over to Edward and extended a hand "New friend? My name is Kevin, who might you be?" Edward accepted the arm, and knew he would wince at the unintentional strength had his hand not been reinforced with metal. "Edward, sir" Kevin grinned/

"Nice to meet you, son! Now, where is my green haired child of choice today?" he asked the room which suddenly became very silent. Paula shot her husband a look to which he responded with a frown which looked foreign on his face. "Sophie?" he asked. Sophie looked down at her sparse plate and shrugged "I don't know."

Dinner progressed after that as though nothing at happened. Edward decided that Kevin was the kind of father he wished Hohenhiem was. He worked long hours but dedicated the ones at home to his family wholeheartedly. As Paula dictated a list of chores she wanted done that weekend, Kevin huffed and puffed more out of duty than because he didn't want to, casting the teenagers a wink as he did so. After dinner, Paula stated that they could only watch one more movie if they intended to go home that night.

"You're more than welcome to stay over, but I would need to speak to your parents." Riza decided to stay over, but Edward viewed the idea of Paula speaking to his brother about him staying over and said he needed to get home that night. Kevin offered to drive Edward home.

After watching _Fear and Loathing_, Edward prepared to leave. The living room was empty but for himself and Sophie, as Riza prepared her sleeping arrangements in Sophie's room. Edward decided to use the opportunity to ask what had been on his mind all day.

"Sophie... why are you and Envy not speaking?" Sophie froze, her previously serene face scrunched now in discomfort. She looked at him head on, seeming to be willing him to take the question back, though he knew he couldn't.

Eventually she said "He didn't tell me." Edward nodded. He didn't really understand, but he accepted it as something at least. But he wasn't prepared for her revenge.

"Why aren't you?" His palms began to sweat, and the butterflies fluttered up a storm. He looked anywhere but at Sophie. His nerves were haywire. No one had asked before, and suddenly he understood. It was a secret. Their feelings, his and hers, they kept them close, though presumably for different reasons. Finally, he locked eyes with the unnatural red-head, begging her not to make him say it. Sophie nodded.

"Ah. I know." Edward sagged in relief.

A/N. Bet you didn't expect to see me here again. This story has never left my mind in the, what, two years since I last updated? And I always knew what would happen next. So here it is, my friends, here it is. I am considering going ahead and re-writing the previous chapters. Now that I have a year of University level English under my belt, I can see some corrections which could be done. But I wanted to speak to some of you guys, hear your opinions. People who might be waiting for me to come back with La Dolce Vita.

On another note, if you are interested in some of my other projects? I have started a book review blog. Escapistreviews. Tumblr. Com . Come check it out. Also, your opinion? I am thinking about rewriting the infamous Harry Potter fanfiction My Immortal, into an epic story. It could either go really well or really, really badly. So please, feedback.

I won't leave you a preview, I won't be so cruel again.


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